Flexi or Retractable Leads – Things You Need to Know

We all love to get out and walk our dogs – it’s great exercise for both owner and pet! We are often asked how owners can make their walk more enjoyable, and the first thing on the list is a good collar that fits properly and an appropriate leash. Some dogs may still be working with a training collar before transitioning back to a flat collar, and nothing beats a good leather leash – it’s easy to manage and easy on the hands.

An Example of a Flexi Leash

Of course your training is ongoing and you can use all the different strategies you’ve learned at class to help your dog focus on walking nicely. Many people like to use flexi or retractable leads when they are walking the dog. So, sometimes the dog is on a flexi, sometimes they are on a regular leash – this is somewhat counterproductive – try to be consistent with the walk.

Please keep in mind now that everyone is out and about that flexi’s can be very dangerous so you must be ultra responsible when using one. Here are some real life scenarios:

1. Large dog sees something behind owner and runs after it – flexi lead cuts through the owners leg

5. Lady walking small dog on flexi – dog is across the street, lady still on sidewalk – car coming!

6. Man crossing four lanes of traffic with small dog on flexi

7. Man walking dog with flexi tied around his waist – dog rushes across street to attack another dog dragging owner with him.

8. Dog in dog park on flexi – another dog runs and doesn’t see the flexi – is badly hurt/killed

9. Young mum pushing a stroller with dog on flexi – the line is right at the level of her child’s face – an accident waiting to happen

Quite honestly, I could go on and on – short story is that flexible leads can be very dangerous. I don’t use them and don’t want be around others’ who are using them. Unfortunately people don’t realize how terrible these wounds can be until they experience them. If you choose to use a flexible lead, that’s your choice, but please be very careful around others.